Thanks for visiting the Juilliard Store! We've taken the time to answer some frequently asked questions and provided a helpful glossary of terms to assist you during your shopping experience. If you have specific questions, feel free to send us an email: store@juilliard.edu.
Is this the only place I can buy Juilliard apparel and gift items?
Yes, we are the official bookstore for The Juilliard School and the only place to find authentic Juilliard clothing and branded items. Proceeds from the Juilliard Store support the Juilliard Scholarship Fund.
How can I find my size?
We now have size charts for our Juilliard apparel items! Since our apparel items come from different vendors, sizing may differ per style. You can view the size chart for a particular item by clicking the size chart icon located under the add to cart item on the product page.
Do you still sell CDs and DVDs?
We no longer carry any non-Juilliard CDs or DVDs unless they are instructional items that come with scores/textbooks. We currently have only 2 CDs in stock; Juilliard String Quartet and Juilliard Holiday Trombone Choir. While we may not be able to carry the inventory we once did, we understand that recordings are important to our customers and community. We are working to develop ways to highlight artists and improve customer experience when it comes to shopping for recorded music and performances. To checkout Juilliard performances (many of which are now live streamed) you can click on the performance calendar here.
Can I order orchestral parts through you?
We do not stock orchestral parts, as a general rule. However, we are able to order them through a few of our publishers. The rules for ordering parts vary from publisher to publisher.
- Some sell a full “Set of Parts” as a single package. This gives what they consider to be an appropriate number of copies of each part for the given piece.
- Some sell each part individually. In this case you will have to decide how many copies of each part you will need. Sometimes there will be minimum quantities for some parts, often string parts.
- Bärenreiter specifically, offers individual parts for the strings (often with minimums) and a wind set, which includes 1 copy of each wind part.
As a general rule, parts for pieces still under copyright must be rented.
Why can’t I find the piece I heard, or saw a performance of?
There are a few reasons why the piece you heard, or saw a performance of, might now be available to purchase.
Out of Print:
Sometimes a publisher will decide to stop printing a piece of music. If they own the exclusive publishing rights to the piece, then another publisher cannot legally publish the piece. Once it enters the public domain, a reprint publisher can reproduce the piece for sale.
Original arrangement:
Performers will sometimes create their own arrangements of pieces of music for their own instrument or ensemble. If the arranger has not published their arrangement, it cannot be purchased.
Rental Only:
Many contemporary compositions are not sold commercially, but rather rented for a period of time sufficient to learn and perform the piece. This must be arranged directly with the publisher or rental agent. We cannot facilitate rentals. Zinfonia handles rentals for a large number of publishers. Nkoda is an app that offers subscription based access to many rental catalogs. Works that are rental only often have protected performance rights as well which can be negotiated with the rental agent.
Not Published:
Some works are just not published. This is especially common for very new works. It can take years for a piece to be published once it has been premiered. Also, some composers/performers don’t publish their works. Unfortunately this means we cannot acquire it.
Self-Published:
Some contemporary composers publish their own works either physically, or digitally. In this case you will have to buy the music directly from the composer. We cannot order from individual composers.
What are the best ways to search for products on your site?
Composer Browsing: If you are not looking for anything specific, but instead want to see what we have from a certain composer.
- Use the dropdown Menu to select the instrument, or ensemble size, you are looking for.
- Select the Composer you are interested in browsing from the list on the left.
- Some composers appear twice. This is a display error we are currently working to fix. However, clicking either name should return the same results.
Publisher Browsing: If you are not looking for a specific piece, but you are looking to browse what we have from a particular publisher for a certain composer.
- Use the dropdown Menu to select the instrument, or ensemble size, you a looking for.
- Select the Composer you are interested in browsing from the list on the left.
- Select the Publisher you are interested in from the list on the left.
- We primarily list composers by last name. Do no search first name unless you need to differentiate between composers with the same last name (Ex. J.S. Bach v. C.P.E. Bach, Clara Schumann v. Robert Schumann, Demonico Scarlatti v. Alessandro Scarlatti, etc.)
- You can search a publisher rather than using the filters.
- If you are not seeing what you are looking for, try removing a term to widen your search
- If you are not finding the specific item you’re looking for feel free to contact us for assistance. You can live chat with a Juilliard Store employee Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, or send us an email anytime at store@juilliard.edu
Glossary of Common Terms
Composer: The person who originally wrote the piece.
Copyright: Intellectual property protection for reproduction of creative works. If a work is under copyright, that means that the copyright holder is the only person legally allowed to produce the work. When a piece is still under copyright, it means that the publisher has exclusive rights to print the piece. You will not have a publisher choice for a work under copyright. While an older piece may not be eligible for copyright, it is possible for the edition to be copywritten. For example, Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier is almost 300 years old, and in the public domain, but the Bärenreiter edition of the Well Tempered Clavier may be copyright protected.
Distributor: The company that we buy our products from. Many foreign and domestic publishers use a distributor to make it easier to sell their products. For example, Hal Leonard distributes for Boosey & Hawkes, Ricordi, Henle, Schirmer, and multiple other publishers.
Edition/Publisher: Many common pieces are published by multiple companies with a wide variety of research, editorial markings, fingerings, and print/paper quality. Often times, more heavily researched editions (See: Urtext) are also printed very clearly and on a high quality paper.
Editor: Someone who revises the composer’s work before printing. Oftentimes the editor will add information to aid the performer, such as fingerings, dynamics, and articulations. It is also common for an editor to include research notes and insights into the piece-- usually found in a preface to the printed music.
Facsimile: An exact copy of an original manuscript. These are copies of the original composition in the composer’s hand.
Fingerings: A large amount of keyboard music comes with suggested fingerings. These are suggestions, either from the composer or the editor, about which fingers to use on which notes. Some older editions and urtext editions, come without this information.
Import: The item is not generally stocked in the American distributor’s warehouse. This means we can order the item, but the delivery time is extended. Import time varies from distributor to distributor, but generally imports can take 1-2 months.
Imprint: The common name, or trade name, a publisher uses for their publications. Some publishers will put out products under a variety of different names. (Ex. Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Random House)
ISBN: International Standard Book Number. A unique 13 digit code, usually located above or below a barcode, that identifies that specific product. If there is any doubt that you are looking at the correct product, comparing this number is a good way to be 100% sure of your purchase.
ISMN: International Standard Music Number. Same as an ISBN, but specifically for music. Not all music has an ISMN.
Opus: Abbreviated Op. The Opus number is the catalog number assigned to a piece of music. This is the specific number identifying a piece in a composer’s catalog. Sometimes titles are non-specific, like "Sonata", so an opus number helps to find the specific piece you are looking for. Some earlier composers have their own catalog numbers instead of opus numbers (Ex. Mozart; KV, Bach; BWV, Haydn; Hob).
Public Domain: A work that is not under copyright. A piece in the public domain has no restrictions on who can print, perform, or arrange it. According to fairuse.stanford.edu:
There are four common ways that works arrive in the public domain:
- the copyright has expired
- the copyright owner failed to follow copyright renewal rules
- the copyright owner deliberately places it in the public domain, known as “dedication,” or
- copyright law does not protect this type of work.
Very generally, works written before 1978 have a 70 year copyright, and works written in or after 1978 have a 90 year copyright. There are many factors that can affect these times. See Cornell’s detailed list of public domain
Series: Beginner methods are often collected in a series (Ex. Faber & Faber Piano Adventures, Bastien Piano Basics, Celebration Series). It is crucial to know the series and level of the book you are looking for when searching for then next book in your music education.
SKU or Publisher’s Item Number: The number a publishing company attaches to their product. The format, and location on the book, will vary from publisher to publisher. But this is a good way to identify a product that may have a generic or limited title.
Urtext: Literally, Original text. An urtext edition is a heavily researched, and authoritative, edition that strives to reproduce the original intentions of the composer as closely as possible. Some publishers only print urtext editions (Ex. Henle, Barenreiter), while some publishers do some urtext and some non-urtext editions (Ex. Peters).